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As we draw the Luminaries series to an end, we would like to thank everyone that has contributed.
Uniting bloggers from around the globe and delivering this series has been an enriching experience. Furthermore, we really appreciate all the support we received from our teachers and friends who helped promote the series. Allah reward you all abundantly!
The great Shāfi’ī scholar, historian and biographer Imām al-Sakhawi said,
“Whoever records a biography of a believer, it is as though he has brought him or her back to life.”
That was our intention in this series, to bring a little of their light into your lives. The entire series has been an honour, a privilege, and a blessing.
If anyone has any queries with regards to the references, or indeed incidents that have been mentioned, please contact us.
Luminaries I– Imām Abū Qāsim al-Junayd
Luminaries II–Shaykh Aḥmad ibn ʿAjība
Luminaries III–Shaykh Abū Bakr bin Sālim
Luminaries IV– Shaykh Ahmadou Bamba Mbacké
Luminaries V– Shaykh ʾAḥmad Ibn Idrīs
Luminaries VI–Imām al-Ḥārithal-Muḥāsibī
Luminaries VII–Sayyīda Nafīsa
“Verily, God and His angels bless the Prophet: [hence,] O you who have attained to faith, bless him and give yourselves up [to his guidance] in utter self-surrender!” -— Qurʾān [33:56]
May we receive all the divine treasures we seek.
May our hearts be healed by divine presence within them.
May we become God-Conscious Muslims.
May our emigrations and pilgrimages to Him be sincere
May we be scientists in the art of being Muslims.
May we become a speck of what the Sahaaba and ahlul bayt were.
May we all be illuminated by Sayyidina Mohamed to reunite under the shade of the ghilans (acacia trees) of paradise.
May this Light that we have attempted to bring into your lives, find a dwelling in our hearts and homes. May it resonate in our daily actions and interactions with all.
Amīn!
“O Allāh, shower blessings, peace and mercy on our master and chief – Muḥammad, the best of creation, and his family, with every glance and every breath, as many times as the number of all things encompassed within the knowledge of Allāh.”
Al-Fātihah
Peace and prayers,
Bloggers: Healing Hearts and The Conscious Muslim
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Sayyida Nafisa: The Lady of Purity
It would be impossible for me to recount each and every woman that has inspired and touched my life in some way. I wouldn’t hesitate to say that some are luminary figures that have shed their light far and wide. It’s been in such blessed company, in the warmth of a friend’s home that I first heard of a lofty figure who has been inspirational through the ages: Sayyīda Nafīsa. As a community, we tend to be aware of the elevated rank of the wives of the Prophet (ﷺ) or hear of the oft-quoted Rābiʻa al-ʻAdawiyya. Yet other towering women are barely whispered about, except perhaps in the closest of circles. It’s with this in mind that I wanted to share what I’ve learnt about the saintly Sayyīda Nafīsa.
Sayyīda Nafīsa was a remarkable scholar and saint. She was famously known as Nafīsat al-‘ilmī wal-ma’rifat, (the Rare Lady of Knowledge and Gnosis), and held many other titles including: Nafīsat al- Ṭāhira, (the Rare Lady of Purity), Nafīsat al-‘Ā’bida (the Rare Worshipful Lady), and ṣaḥibat al-Karamat, (the Lady of Miracles). She was a woman renowned for her devotion, piety, asceticism, and to whom miracles were attributed. She constantly recited the Qurʾān, prayed through the night and fasted perpetually. As narrated by her niece Zaynab b Yaḥyā: “I served my aunt, Sayyīda Nafīsa for forty years. I never saw her sleeping at night and I never saw her eating during the day, except the days forbidden to fast – the two ‘Eids and the Days of Tashriq (11th – 13th of Dhū l-Hijjah).”
Her childhood
Sayyīda Nafīsa was a direct descendant of the Prophet (ﷺ). She was the daughter of al-Ḥasan al-Anwar, son of Zayd al-Ablaj, son of Imām al- Ḥasan, son of Sayyīda Fāṭimah al-Zahra (r). She was born in Makkah on the 11th of Rabī’a al-Awwal but grew up in Madīnah since her father was the governor of the blessed city at the time.
Signs of her lofty station were apparent from a very early age; she memorized the Qurʾān and studied Islamic jurisprudence comprehensively. Her great intellectual ability enabled her to become adept in explaining the Qurʾān despite her young age. Furthermore, she used to pray the five prayers regularly behind her father in the mosque of the Prophet (ﷺ). It has been reported that her father used to take Sayyīda Nafīsa to the grave of the Prophet (ﷺ) and would address the Prophet (ﷺ) directly by saying: “Ya Rasūllullāh!, O Beloved Prophet of Allāh! I am pleased with my daughter Nafīsa!.” He repeatedly continued this until one day the Prophet (ﷺ) appeared to him in a dream saying to him, “Ya Ḥasan, I am pleased with your daughter Nafiīsa, because you are pleased with her, and Allāh is pleased with her because I am pleased with her.” Again, this particular event signified Sayyīda Nafīsa’s great status at a very young age.
At the age of sixteen, Sayyīda Nafīsa married her cousin Ish’aq al-Mu’taman, a direct descendant of Imām al- Ḥusayn, and they were blessed with a son named al-Qa’ssim and a daughter named ʾUmm Kulṯūm.
Sayyīda Nafīsa and Prophet Ibrahim (AS)
It is reported that when Sayyīda Nafīsa used to recite the Holy Qurʾān, she would pray: “O Allāh make it easy for me to visit the grave of Sayyidīna ʾIbrāhīm, al-Khalīl”. Many years later, Allāh answered her prayer and enabled her to journey to the Holy Land, Jerusalem (Palestine) to visit the grave of the Prophet ʾIbrāhīm (as). It’s narrated that when she arrived at the grave, she wept and recited the following verse from the Holy Qurʾān: “And whenʾIbrāhīm said: My Lord! make this city secure, and save me and my sons from worshipping idols:” [14: 35]
As Sayyīda Nafīsa sat in front of the grave of the Prophet ʾIbrāhīm (as), reciting the Qurʾān, she felt an intense presence, and saw the image of Sayyidīna ʾIbrāhīm (as) in front of her. Of that moment she said, “My heart began to beat harder and my eyes to blink.” She called upon him saying “O my grandfather! – Ya Jiddī! I came to you in body and spirit…. as my soul has come to you before many times, I now come to you in body as well. I seek your good pleasure with me and I seek your guidance and instruction in order that I may worship Allāh until my dying breath.”. At that moment she heard a voice emerging from the image of Sayyidīna ʾIbrāhīm which was before her saying, “Good tidings my granddaughter! You are chosen to be one of the sanctified, worshipful maidservants of your Lord. My advice to you is to recite Sūrah al-Muzammil, wherein Allāh says, “O thou folded in garments! Stand (to prayer) by night, but not all night…” [73:1] until its end and seek to meditate on what you recite. By reciting this chapter you will be guided to the forms of worship and devotion that contain no hardship, as Allāh said, ‘Allāh does not burden any soul with more than it can bear.’ O my granddaughter! The intensity of your worship has made your body weak – try to keep everything in balance.”
Relocation to Egypt
At the age of forty-four, Sayyīda Nafīsa moved to Cairo.
From every distant corner of Egypt, people came flooding to her house in order to take blessings from her, especially women who came simply to touch her and request her du’a. And it’s in Egypt where Sayyīda Nafīsa spent the remaining part of her life.
Sayyīda Nafīsa and Imam al-Shafi
Sayyīda Nafīsa taught most of the scholars of her time but most notably the great Imām al- Shāfi‘ī studied hadith from her. It is reported that despite Imām al- Shāfi‘ī’s incredible scholarship, he would visit Sayyīda Nafīsa to seek her blessing, and ask for her prayers. At times when Imām al- Shāfi‘ī was ill, he would send a messenger to the blessed saint to seek her prayers. Sayyīda Nafīsa would immediately make du’a, and by the time the messenger returned to Imām al- Shāfi‘ī, he would find him already cured. That’s how powerful her prayers were.
On one occasion, Imām al- Shāfi‘ī fell sick and as usual sent his messenger asking Sayyīda Nafīsa for her du’a. On this occasion, She sent him the message: “Tell him that may Allāh make his meeting with Him the Best of meetings and may Allāh lift him to His proximity.” Upon hearing this, the great Imaām understood that his death was imminent. He wrote his will and stated that Sayyīda Nafīsa should pray the funeral prayers over him.
When the great Imām passed onto his Lord, Sayyīda Nafīsa executed his will. Incapacitated due to her constant worship, Imām al- Shāfi‘ī’s body was brought to the house of Sayyīda Nafīsa. There she prayed the funeral prayer over him from the women’s section, following Imam al-Buwaiṭī, who led the prayer.
Her return to her Lord
The pious and saints are given the gift of being able to recognise the signs of when death is approaching them, and that’s exactly what happened to Sayyīda Nafīsa. When she began to feel her death was approaching, she dug up her grave with her own hands inside her home. It is reported that she would enter the grave and worship in it daily. She completed the Holy Qurʾān whilst sitting in her grave six thousand times, and granted the rewards of the recitation to all deceased Muslims.
Sayyīda Nafīsa became extremely ill at the beginning of Ramadan in 208 H, and despite being advised by her companions to stop fasting, she refused, saying, “I have been asking Allāh to die fasting for thirty years; now you want me to break the fast?”
When Sayyīda Nafīsa returned to her Lord, her husband wanted to take her body back to the blessed city of Madīnah where she was to be buried. However, the people of Egypt solicited and asked him to bury her in the grave she had dug up with her own hands in Egypt. They even went to the extent of collecting a large sum of money and offered it to him. The following day, they asked for his decision, and his reply was: “I have decided to bury her here. I saw the Prophet (ﷺ ) in a dream last night, and he told me, ‘Give them back their money and bury your wife in Egypt.'”
Her miracles (karamat)
Sayyīda Nafīsa was notorious for her countless miracles, both during and after her life. Here are a few of those miracles that have been narrated.
1. Curing a paralyzed girl
When Sayyīda Nafīsa first arrived in Egypt and settled in her new home, there was a non-Muslim family living in her neighbourhood whose daughter was paralyzed from the waist down. One day the girl’s mother brought her to Sayyīda Nafīsa to watch while she went shopping. She left her daughter in one corner of Sayyīda Nafīsa’s house. Sayyīda Nafīsa began making ablution and water from her ablution flowed towards the girl. As the water touched the body of the girl, she experienced something strange. She began to take the water from Sayyīda Nafīsa’s ablution and rub it on her paralyzed feet and legs. Suddenly by Allāh’s mercy, the paralysis disappeared completely and she was able to stand. Meanwhile Sayyīda Nafīsa was busy in prayer. The girl stood up and seeing her mother just returning from the market, ran to meet her to tell her what had happened. Her mother cried with joy declaring: “That woman is truly holy and her religion is the truth.” She came in, hugged Sayyīda Nafīsa, thanked her for healing her daughter and asked her to pray that she be guided from darkness to light. Sayyīda Nafīsa then taught her to recite the shahādah.
When the father of the girl returned home that evening, whose name was Ayyūb Abū Surraya, and saw his daughter cured, he was overjoyed. He asked his wife about what happened and she told him the whole story. He raised his head heavenwards saying, “O Allāh! You guide whom You like and I now know that Islam is the true religion, completing what we believe in.” He went to the home of Sayyīda Nafīsa, and speaking to her from behind a veil he said, “I believe in your religion, and I accept it. I testify that there is none to worship except Allāh and that your grandfather Muḥammad is the Prophet of Allāh.” That miracle was the cause for the entire tribe of Sayyīda Nafīsa’s neighbours to enter Islam.
2. Rive Nile failing to flood
In the year 201 H. (816 CE) the river Nile failed to flood, as is its normal annual custom. People went to Sayyīda Nafīsa asking her to pray that Allāh cause the Nile to flood since without the usual flood, no crops would grow. Sayyīda Nafīsa gave them her face veil telling them, “throw that in the Nile and by Allāh’s grace it will flood.” They took her veil and threw it in the Nile. Immediately the river began to rise and overflow its banks.
3. Stolen wool
There was an old lady who had four daughters. She used to spin wool into yarn, then take the yarn and sell it. One day the old lady set out for the market with the spun wool wrapped in a red package. Without any warning, an eagle dove out of the sky, grabbed the package in its claws and flew off. The old lady, overcome with fear and worry, fainted. When she awoke she began crying. People around her advised her to go to Sayyīda Nafīsa and narrate what had happened. Sayyīda Nafīsa said, “O Allāh! Exalted in Power and Owner of this creation: put right what the affairs of Your servant this lady fulana. She is Your servant and her children are Your servants and You are powerful over all things.” She told the old lady to return to her home and wait.
The old lady went home crying with worry for the sake of her young children. Night found her still crying. Suddenly a commotion was heard outside. It was a group of people seeking Sayyīda Nafīsa. They told her, “Something very strange just happened to us. We came to you because we have been ordered to do so.”
She said, “What happened?” They related, “We were on a ship traveling at sea. As we began approaching land, one of the planks suddenly sprung loose and the boat began to flood. Some of us did not know how to swim and we were in deep water still five hours from shore. The boat began to fill up and sink. All of a sudden an eagle appeared holding a red package in its claws. It threw that package, which was full of spun wool, into that crack filling it. The water stopped flooding and we managed to reach shore safely. We heard a voice saying, ‘Go to Sayyīda Nafīsa.’
The boat crew presented Sayyīda Nafīsa a gift of 500 dinars. Sayyīda Nafīsa began to cry, “O Allāh you are so merciful to Your servants.” She asked the old lady, “How much did you usually get for your wool each week?” The lady replied, “I used to get 20 dinars.” Sayyīda Nafīsa gave her the 500 dinars and she went home overjoyed. She told her neighbours what happened and they came in droves to see Sayyīda Nafīsa. Many ended up giving themselves over to her service.
Sayyīda Nafīsa’s miracles continued on after her departure from this world. There was an occasion where some thieves entered her mosque and stole sixteen silver lamps. However, as the thieves tried escaping with the lamps, they discovered there was no longer a door and a way out of the mosque. They were trapped until the caretaker came the following morning and found them.
The miracles mentioned above illustrate the great spiritual power and strength Allāh Almighty provided Sayyīda Nafīsa with; to the extent that even to this day, people from all around the world flock to her blessed grave in Cairo to seek blessings, and to pray to Allāh for the difficulties within their lives to be removed.
Sayyīda Nafīsa was truly a great luminary. She was a great teacher, and lived a balanced life full of devotion to her Lord, and being in service of others. We can use her life story to draw inspiration and strength from, especially more so in the modern age we are living in. Sayyīda Nafīsa’s story also demonstrates to us the pivotal role of female scholarship, and how it was used in the cultivation of the religious sciences and Prophetic tradition.
Source: Excerpted from the Light of Ahl al-Bayt: My Spiritual Experiences Unveiled by Imam Metawalli ash-Sha`rawi
http://www.sunnah.org/history/Scholars/nafisa_at_tahira.htm
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Imām al-Ḥārith al-Muḥāsibī
It was during Iʿtikāf last Ramaḍān where I was sitting in our masjids library and I gazed upon a book my friend was reading, “al- Muḥāsibī’s Risāla al-Mustarshidīn” (Treatise for The Seekers of Guidance), by Imām al-Muḥāsibī. As he left, I picked up the book and started reading it.
Imām Abū ‘Abdullāh al-Ḥārith b Asad al-Muḥāsibī (may Allāh be pleased with him) was born in the great city of Baṣra, Iraq in the year 165 A.H./781 C.E – 243 A.H./857 C.E. The city which would plant the deep roots of the beginning of all Islamic Sciences to be. It is in the center of debates regarding new translated knowledge of the Greeks, Romans, and Syrian Christians etc that Imām al-Muḥāsibī would intellectually take part of, exploring the proper viewpoint of alienated knowledge and philosophies in the Islamic worldview.
Both a scholar and narrator of Ḥadīth, he held a high level of legal thought. He was a major speculative theologian (Mutakallim), who authored over 200 books and treatises. He was the teacher of great Luminaries such as: Imām al-Junayd, Sarī al-Saqaṭī, Aḥmad and Muḥammad b. Abi al-Ward, Aḥmad bin Muḥammad ibn Masrūq, and Muhammad b Ya’qūb al-Farajī. He influenced many theologians who came after him, including Imām al-Ghazālī and his Iḥyāʾ ʿulūm al-Dīn. He had a somewhat fractious relationship with Imām Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal for his propensity to respond to the Rationalists using their own methods of reasoning, over the years this has led to some people overlooking his works.
He was called Muḥāsibī due to his constant reckoning of his own self, taken from the word muḥāsib, which means he who takes account of something. Therefore Imām al- Muḥāsibī ‘s major intellectual contribution was in the area of character reformation and human development, used essentially as a means in coming close to God. His work entirely focused on God-consciousness, that act which is necessary if we are to truly know and serve God. On the other hand, he emphasized on Divine Grace; it is Allāh who allows one to be on the path of truth; it is Allah who elevates the maqām of His servants; it is Allāh who allows one to be able to conquer and discipline his soul. Though he did not believe it to be completely passive, that it is through reflection, devotion, humility, and having a good opinion of Allāh that the hearts can become illuminated by the Light of Divine Grace.
His greatest work is considered to be ar-Ri ʿāyah li-ḥūqūq Allāh (Book of observance of the rights of Allāh); most of the themes in that book are dealt in al- Muḥāsibī’s Risāla al-Mustarshidīn (Treatise for The Seekers of Guidance) the book I laid my eyes upon.
The greatest of miracles, I believe, of Imām al-Muḥāsibī is his discourse on speculative theology and rectifying the self and that in and of itself has brought in much miracles and inspiration to later luminaries and nations to come by. You and I are both transformed by his works, one way or another. I definitely was since Ramaḍān benefited me well.
Selected saying sof Imām al-Muḥāsibī:
“One who rectifies his inner self with an awareness of God’s surveillance and sincerity; God adorns his outer self with devotional acts and adherence to the prophetic way (Sunnah).”
“Knowledge bequeaths fear, divestment from the world bequeaths comfort, and gnosis bequeaths self criticism.”
“Good character is bearing abuse, rarely becoming angry, a pleasant face, and sweet speech.”
“One who does not thank God for a blessing has called for its eradication.”
“The best person is one who does not allow his Hereafter to preoccupy him from his worldly affair nor does he allow his worldly affair to preoccupy him from his Hereafter.”
“The tribulation of the seeker of the world is the idling of his heart from remembrance of the Hereafter.”
“For indeed, the pleasure of the wise scholars is in their intellects, and the pleasure of the ignoramuses and beasts is in their desires.”
Source: Treatise for The Seekers of Guidance, al-Muhasibi’s Risala al-Mustarshidin translation, commentary, and notes by Imām Zaid Shakir
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Shaykh ʾAḥmad Ibn Idrīs’s
Bismiʾllahi ʾr-Raḥmāni ʾr-Raḥīm wa ʾṣ-ṣalātu wa salām ʿalā Rasūlihi ʾl-Karīm
When we decided to create this series titled Luminaries, I was undecided as to whom I would write about. So I thought, what does Luminary actually mean? For me, a luminary is someone that has reached the status of sainthood and then gone that one step further. The word luminary is derived from one of two Latin words; lumen meaning “light”, or lucere meaning “to shine”. Interestingly, lumen is also a unit of measurement of; yes you guessed correctly, light (more specifically visible light). My teacher Dr ‘Umar Fārūq ‘Abd-Allāh says that a person’s heart is a receptacle of light, every time you do good, your heart fills with light. Hence, a luminary’s heart is full of light, to be specific: epiphanic light. This light is so strong that it radiates and illuminates all those that come into contact with it.
No one typifies this more for me than Shaykh ʾAḥmad Ibn Idrīs al- al-Arā’ishī al-Alāmī al-Idrīsī al-Ḥasanī.
One of Shaykh ʾAḥmad Ibn Idrīs’s students Imām Muḥammad ʻUthmān al-Mīrghanī wrote, “One time, toward the end of his stay in Mecca, I looked at him while he was sitting next to one of the doors of the Masjid al-Ḥaram. I look at the greatness of his spiritual state and the lights that surrounded him. I saw that such light was coming out of his noble beard, that if the light from a single hair of his beard traveled across the world it would turn all of its inhabitants into ʾawliyāʾ.”
Ibn Idrīs was born into a pious family in the suburb of Maysūr in the district of al-Arā’ish near Fez in Morocco in 1750. He was a direct descendant of Sayyidīna Ḥasan b. ʿAlī, the grandson of the Prophet (ﷺ). He is often referred to as the “enigmatic saint” as very little is known about him, and he did not leave behind a compendium of written work. It said he was also bestowed with another name, this time by the Prophet (ﷺ) himself, the name was al-Shifā’ meaning the healing. Most of the information available on ʾAḥmad Ibn Idrīs is through works compiled by his students.
Even before he had reached adulthood, Ibn Idrīs would seclude himself and devote most of his time to worship and contemplation. He memorized the Qurʾān and several other important Islamic texts before moving to Fez and attending al-Qarawiyyīn at the age of twenty. He excelled at Fez, and went on to become a teacher at al-Qarawiyyīn within 10 years. He became very close to a Mauritanian scholar called Muḥammad Limjaydrī B. Ḥabībullāh, he would go on to play an important role in the spiritual development of Ibn Idrīs. Shaykh Limjaydrī was impressed with Ibn Idrīs that he introduced him to his own teacher, Shaykh ‘Abd al-Wahhāb al-Tazī. Shaykh al-Tazī was struck by the eloquence of Ibn Idrīs and the tremendous power he had in his voice. Ibn Idrīs took three paths from al-Tazī the ancient Ṣūfī paths, the Shādhiliyya and Nasqshabandiyya as well as a new spiritual path called the Khaḍiriyya, which was initiated by the great Shaykh ‘Abd al-Azīz Dabbāgh. Both al-Dabbāgh and al-Tazī were saints in there own right, and had seen the Prophet (ﷺ) in many dreams, they themselves had taken knowledge, and paths directly from the Prophet (ﷺ); al-Tazī now wished to bring Ibn Idrīs to this level.
Ibn Idrīs recounts seeing the Prophet (ﷺ) in a vision and received his own litanies, three to be exact: a formula for remembrance, one for ṣalawāt, and the other to seek forgiveness from God. The Prophet (ﷺ) then said to him, “O ʾAḥmad, I have given you the keys of the heavens and the Earth; saying them once is equal to the greatness of everything that is in this world and the next, many times over.”
At the age of forty nine, Ibn Idrīs moved to Mecca, stopping on his way in Algeria, Tunisia and also Libya, he lectured whenever he could, the talks often centred on ‘ilm (knowledge) and Ṣūfīsm. His intention was to spend the rest of his life in the two holy mosques; he taught extensively in Mecca, but also in Madīnah and Ṭā’if. A common criticism of some Ṣūfī orders is that people believe they leave behind the Qur’ān and the Sunnah or deviate away from it altogether, however Ibn Idrīs was a staunch advocate of the Qurʾān and Sunnah. One time his student Muḥammad b.ʿAlī al-Sanūsī said to him, “Dictate to me your lineage so that I may record it.” He replied, “My lineage is the Book and the Sunnah. Look, and if you find me upon the Book and the Sunna, then say: ‘ʾAḥmad Ibn Idrīs is upon the Book and the Sunna.’ That is my lineage.”
He lamented the deterioration of Islam and Muslims in general; he wanted to revive forgotten practises and teachings of the Prophet (ﷺ) no matter how small. He would often send his best students as missionaries to Muslim lands to revive them and their societies; they were in essence healers, this would be his lasting legacy. Later in his life he moved to Yemen. He was ageing and felt obliged to pass on as much knowledge as possible. Some scholars have said that the revival of Ṣūfī thinking in Yemen was brought about by the arrival of Shaykh ʾAḥmad Ibn Idrīs.
Ibn Idrīs was an independent Mujtahid, this is a term that we rarely come across now, but basically his understanding of the Qurʾān and ḥadīth was so succinct that he could extract his own opinions. His aptitude in ḥadīth was tested several times by Meccan scholars, much like Imām al-Bukhārī, they attempted to throw him by mixing the chains of narrators and Prophetic statements, but he answered each and every one of them with the correct chains all the way back to the Prophet (ﷺ). He had proved himself to be a master in the Islamic sciences.
Ibn Idrīs wanted people to receive everything directly from the Prophet (ﷺ), this is why he called his path al-Ṭarīqa al- Muḥammadiyya – in this path the Prophet (ﷺ) himself is the Shaykh. It is important to note that for all the orders, the leader is always inevitably the Prophet (ﷺ), but this path was ground breaking in the sense that Ibn Idrīs did away with intermediaries.
Shaykh ʾAḥmad Ibn Idrīs’s originality lay in his humility, in his conscious effort in wanting to follow the Prophet (ﷺ) in every action with the utmost sincerity. He was a luminary that was intent on giving and reviving the Prophet (ﷺ) in people’s lives and homes. He wanted God and the Messenger (ﷺ) to be the centre of everyone’s life. I can’t help but feel this is precisely what we are lacking now: the presence of God and His Messenger (ﷺ) in our daily lives.
“…Our Lord! Do not punish us if we forget…” [2:286]
Ibn Idrīs left behind four core principles that although seem simple at a glance are notoriously difficult. They encapsulate his teachings and most importantly, his way, clearly.
- To remember, before every word or action, that God will question one concerning that action
- To perform every word and action for God alone
- To make one’s heart a home for mercy towards all Muslims, great or small, and to give them honour and respect, which is their right
- Good character, to treat one’s family and household and all of creation kindly and gently.
Maxims
“The greatest portion of our aim is in following the Prophet (ﷺ) footstep after footstep.”
“Ṣūfīsm is to empty the heart of anything but God.” “Leave aside rest and sleep, and stand up for God, may He be praised and glorified, on the foot of sincerity.”
“May your tongue habituate itself to the remembrance of God Most High, so that it overwhelms your heart…” “Indeed there is nothing more harmful to a true faqīr than his hope in people, for hope in people is a sword which cuts man off from God.”
“We are slaves of God, journeying towards God, fearing nothing save God, hoping in nothing save God, clinging to nothing save God, and placing trust in nothing save God.”
Legacy
Ibn Idrīs is a true luminary and the light he had can still be seen penetrating the hearts and minds of many to this day. This transcendent light today is carried through his students who went on to form their own paths, such as Muḥammad b.ʿAlī al-Sanūsī (d. 1859), ʾIbrāhīm al-Rashīd (d. 1874), Muḥammad ʻUthmān al-Mīrghanī (d. 1852), ‘Abd al-Raḥmān ibn Maḥmūd (d. 1874), and among later figures, Ṣāliḥ al-Jaʾfarī (d. 1979).
One Harvard study said,
“The Idrīsī tradition gave birth to leaders of holy wars, men who established religious states, and a number of important centralised ṭarīqahs…. Its success was such that observers at the end of the nineteenth century felt that it was the source of much of the Islamic dynamism of the time.” In my opinion, the greatest gift that Ibn Idrīs left was given to him in a vision by the Prophet (ﷺ)
“There is no other God but God and Muḥammad (ﷺ) is his Messenger, with every glance and every breath, as many times as all that is contained in the knowledge of God.”
In one of his letters to his student Muḥammad al-Madjūb, Ibn Idrīs said, “…May God let you reach His Light, where there is no more darkness.” May this light penetrate our hearts and allow us to follow the way of Shaykh ʾAḥmad Ibn Idrīs, the Muḥammadan way. (ﷺ)
Sources:
Enigmatic Saint – http://www.amazon.co.uk/Enigmatic-Saint-Idrisi-Tradition-Society/dp/0810109107
Letters of Ahmad Ibn Idris – http://www.amazon.co.uk/Letters-Hmad-Ibn-Idr-Northwestern/dp/0810110709/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1394755485&sr=1-5&keywords=Ahmad+Ibn+Idris
Sufi Brotherhoods in Sudan – http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sufi-Brotherhoods-Sudan-Salih-Karrar/dp/1850651116/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1394755511&sr=1-1&keywords=Sudan+Sufi
Reassurance for the Seeker – http://www.amazon.co.uk/Reassurance-Seeker-Translation-Al-Jafaris-Commentary/dp/1887752986/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1394755545&sr=1-1&keywords=reassurance+for+the+seeker
Manifestations of Sainthood in Islam – http://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/SearchResults?tn=Manifestations+sainthood+Islam
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Freedom-Fighter Saint of Senegal:
Cheikh Aḥmadou Bamba Mbacke
By Kamran Haikal
West Africa: 
When it comes to West Africa, or even Africa for that matter, few know where (or what) Senegal is. Below Morocco, a country that needs no introduction to the countless mystics and luminaries it has produced, and below the now famous Mauritania of Murābiṭ al-Ḥajj and Imām Muḥammad Mawlūd, lies Senegal: a country known by historians more for the Atlantic Slave Trade than the beacon of traditional Islamic scholarship that it became. The whole of Africa was a colonial chessboard less than a century ago, and the French moved pawns and rooks in Senegal. There would be a man, by the name of Aḥmadou Bamba Mbacke who would come to revive the love of Allāh and His Messenger (ﷺ) , and his (ﷺ) example in the hearts of the Senegalese.
A Saint from Birth:
Cheikh Aḥmadou Bamba Mbacke, or ‘Amadou Bamba’ was born in 1270 AH (1853) into a family of Qa’dirī scholars from the line of Shaykh ‘Abdu’l-Qādir al-Jīlānī. He was the child of a Sayyid father and a Sayyid mother. Senegal, at the time, was under French colonial rule governing smaller kingdoms throughout the country. His father was the most well respected Qā’dī in his kingdom, erecting several Islamic schools and his mother was known for her effortless service to the community as well. As a child, he preferred imitating his father in his devotional acts while having no desire to play with other children. He spent the entirety of his youth in worship, studying the various Islamic sciences and teaching others. With his father’s passing in 1882 and the end of the armed resistance against the French, Amadou Bamba founded the Mourīdiyya brotherhood/order focusing on the Qurʾān, Sunnah, and tenets of Ṣūfīsm; a calling of society back to traditional Islam. This movement would slowly become the most effective weapon in battling the devastating social effects of imperialism.
The Might of The Mourīdiyya:
Shaykh Amadou Bamba’s newly-founded group calling to traditional and prophetic Islamic ideals, The Mourīdiyya, united the Senegalese under a common banner of faith with emphasis on spiritual rectification and love of Allāh and The Messenger (ﷺ). He also stressed the importance of earning permissible incomes in the lives of Muslims, to counter the beliefs of some of the Muslims of the time who deemed working for an income unnecessary. The Senegalese began to flee in larger and larger numbers every year to take from Amadou Bamba. Being a luminary and spiritual visionary, Shaykh Amadou Bamba noticed the failure of the majority of military resistance against the encroaching European powers seeking control of Africa. Like all the major Ṣūfī luminaries of the past, he found the oppression of the Senegalese as a symptom of the spiritual diseases that were present among the Muslims. As the Shaykh’s Mourīdiyya brotherhood continued to attract large numbers, it emerged as a formidable resistance to French imperialism. The Mourīdiyya were no longer just a religious revivalist movement, but a social revolution.
The Senagalese Madīnah Munawwara: Touba
In 1887 Shaykh Amadou Bamba founded Touba (Arabic for Felicity and the name of a tree in Paradise) in a state of transcendence while sitting under a lone tree in the desert. He envisioned a pilgrimage of his followers to this city that would mimic the hijrah of the prophet’s ﷺ followers to Madīnah so that Islam could flourish. Here, the return to traditional Islamic life from colonial alienation and centralization of the Mourīdiyya movement would occur. With the principles he established, Touba soon became a flourishing spiritual and financially-bustling city, exporting crops and the now-famous Cafe Touba coffee. It would be from this West African Madīnah that the Shaykh’s teachings would spread to the rest of Senegal.
The Muslim Gandhi of Senegal:
Shaykh Amadou Bamba Mbacke is most well remembered by his “Ṣūfī Resistance,” against the French. While some of the Tijānī leaders of Senegal were calling to arms against the intruding French, Shaykh Amadou Bamba maintained an ‘unfazed’ approach where he continued inviting the people to Allāh, rather than struggling for ‘independence.’ The Mourīdiyya were to focus on their worship, reading of sacred texts, and Amadou Bamba strongly emphasized grudge-less and prophetic interactions (ihsan) with the colonizers. Finding Amadou Bamba’s followers growing at an alarming rate, the French considered Amadou Bamba a threat to their rule over Senegal. They feared a rebellion.
In 1895, The French took Shaykh Amadou Bamba to trial on accounts of raising an army against the state. Although adamantly against violence, Amadou Bamba made his desire for a Muslim Senegal clear. As a result, he was exiled to Gabon in Central Africa in hopes of quelling the growth of the Mourīdiyya. The French believed that doing so would help the Senegalese forget the impeccable service of Amadou Bamba. However, his exiles only fueled legends of miraculous survival stories of escaping torture, deprivation, and attempted executions at the hands of the French. He returned in 1902 only to soon be exiled again for another four years to the deserts of Mauritania where he was honored by the ascetics and scholars. During his exiles, he continued composing poems in praise of God and the Messenger (ﷺ) and writing books on fiqh, ‘aqīdah, tafsīr, and the like. The French, realizing their attempts to destroy Shaykh Amadou Bamba had backfired, brought the Shaykh back to Senegal in 1907. To their dismay, his popularity, influence and amount of followers were greater than ever. Still considering him a threat, the French kept him under house arrest for the remainder of his life, away from his family and the city he created. In 1919, he was accepted by the French administration and given award of “Knight of The Legion of Honor.” He refused to wear the medal on account of materialism.
The Legacy of Serigne Touba (Holy Man of Touba)
Shaykh Amadou Bamba passed away in 1927 without having seen the French leave his country. He was successful, however, in his pacifist revival of the Senegalese Islamic identity. He was buried in Touba where the Great Mosque of Touba was built.
Today, the city of Touba is home to nearly a million inhabitants. All avenues of sins are prohibited in the city. The city attracts millions more during the Grand Magal, a celebration of the beginning of the Exile of Shaykh Amadou Bamba, that helped the Senegalese Islamic revival to boom. During this several-day celebration, lectures are given, Qurʾān is read, and group recitations of his poems are performed, similar to Mawlid celebrations.
A large portion of Senegal follows the Mourīdiyya order and Mourīdiyya communities exist all around the world today.
In a poem dedicated to Touba, Shaykh Amadou Bamba wrote: “My lord has blessed me with a place that rid me with all obstacles the minute I entered it.”
Senegalese Ṣūfī (The Miracles)
It is a part of traditional Sunni ‘aqīdah to believe in the miracles of the awliyā’. While some are provable, others are not. Here are a few of the numerous miracles of Shaykh Amadou Bamba that his murīds accept. Nevertheless, such stories are worthy lessons in themselves, whether true or not.
1. In what is reported to be his greatest physical miracle, Shaykh Amadou Bamba was in chains in transit on a boat to Gabon. When requesting to pray, he was denied. He broke through his chains, and jumped off the boat to find a prayer mat floating on the water. He began praying on it and returned to ship when he finished. French accounts of this event even exist, similar to the account of Jesus walking on water. He was said to survive being thrown in a furnace by the French, and drank tea with the soul of the prophet (ﷺ) in it, similar to the story of Abraham, and when thrown into a den of hungry lions, was able to make the lions fall asleep, similar to the powers of Solomon.
2. His light was considered so radiant, that he often covered his face as to not overwhelm others.
3. As he said himself, his miracles, were to be found in his poems praising Allāh and the messenger (ﷺ). His poems weighed in total about seven tons. He ascribed virtues to certain poems. Some poems are said to have powerful habit-altering effect when recited frequently.
4. Touba has become flourishing city of remembrance of God which also is the most financially stable city in Senegal. The city’s administration has even been asked for financial assistance from the country’s government.
5. Within a hundred years, his tarīqah (spiritual path) has become one of the largest in West Africa with several more communities throughout Europe and America.
6. His mother reported no pain during pregnancy, and would find him sitting in his dad’s prayer area as a child. His parents said he would cry when hearing impermissible musical instruments.
7. He was well known among the traditional scholars of the Ummah at the time including Imām Yusūf al-Nabahani in Lebanon and the scholars of the Hijāz who asked him to make du’ā when the House of Sa’ud took power in the Arabian Peninsula.
8. Imām Yusūf al-Nabahani dreamt he was told that Shaykh Amadou Bamba was the greatest of poets alive. The Imām composed a poem in praise of Shaykh Amadou Bamba: The following is a line: “Whosoever has missed [the chance, opportunity to meet] Ahmad al-Mukhtar ﷺ and also the khādim of the mukhtāri (“Amadou Bamba”) is someone who has lost.”
من فاته أحمدالمختار من مضر وفاته خادم المختار مغبون
9. While he previously took ijāzah and allegiance (bay’ah) with scholars of the other spiritual paths, those same teachers ultimately gave him allegiance; a classic case of the student surpassing the teacher.
What did others say about him?
Muḥammad Ibn Mualla, an eminent Moorish mystical poet, said about him: “There is but kindness in his sayings, but peace and nobility in his dwellings (Touba).”
Shaykh Sidia Baba, one of the premier scholars of Mauritania, said after his death: “This man is an ocean. God has given him as much science and knowledge as He gave foam to the sea. His kindness resounds deeply in the world. He has no shortcoming, if it is not to always do good. When he appears, wisdom can be seen.”
Antoine J.M.A Lasselves who initially wanted to destroy Shaykh Amadou Bamba, said in 1919: “Sheikh Bamba certainly holds an inner power whose source cannot be grasped by reason and whose capacity to arouse sympathy cannot be explained…
It would appear that he possesses a prophetic light and a divine secret, similar to what we read in the history of Prophets and their people.
This one however, distinguishes himself by purity of heart, by kindness, by magnanimity of heart and soul and by love of good for both friend and foe;
These are qualities for which his predecessors could have envied him, irrespective of their great virtue, piety and prestige.”
Luminous Enlightenments of Le Cheikh
“My religion is the love of God.”
“Allāh led me to Muḥammad ﷺ so Muḥammad ﷺ can lead me back to Allāh.”
“When they put the chains on me, Allāh opened the doors of mystery for me.”
“The only weapons I will use to fight my enemies are the pen and the ink that I use to write my poems in the glory of the Chosen One ﷺ.”
“ The fact that I was granted the privileged rank of servant of the Prophet and the book is a true bounty from Allāh (the bestower) and not my will.”
“If you call me anything else except Abdullahi or Khadim al Rasul ﷺ you have insulted me.”
“If you really aspire to attain lofty spiritual degrees, follow closely these recommendations of mine: I advise you to strive hard for knowledge, show gratitude towards Allāh, be sincere in worship and generosity. I recommend you to practice silence, patience and abstinence. Do avoid wordiness and excessive sleeping, stay aside from aught that entails immorality and corruption.”
“The motive of my departure to exile is the will of God to elevate my rank and to make of me the mediator between my people and the prophet ﷺ.”
“I have spoken to you, you have heard my words. I have left written scripts to your attention, I have acted under your eyes; My life is my message.”
Why is Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba so important?
Shaykh Amadou Bamba was able to single-handedly set up a self-sufficient city to emulate the city of Madīnah at the time of the Prophet ﷺ. He turned his colonizers into friends. He was a mujtahid and was given the title of the mujaddid of Western Africa. He was a mystic and a brilliant poet who founded an influential and powerful Ṣūfī order that continues to grow today. Not many are capable of emulating every aspect of the sunnah as Shaykh Amadou Bamba did. He wanted the best for not only the Muslims, but for all humanity.
He authored countless books, and thousands of poems in praise of Allāh and the Messenger, with each poem having specific spiritual virtues. He preferred obscurity yet was soon referred to with privilege as ‘Khadim al Rasul” (the servant of the Prophet ﷺ) by scholar and layman alike. He emphasized a daily life surrounded around one’s prayer, awrād (litanies), recitation of the Qurʾān, seeking knowledge, prayers upon the Prophet, being in the humble service of others, giving charity, receiving halal income, embodying all acts of worship in the sunnah, and inculcating prophetic character in one’s self, and in one’s interactions with one’s enemies. His impeccable character, brilliance, and piety made him the most prominent scholar of West Africa in his time. Such defined his spiritual station, which cultivated in his exile that ultimately lead to a spiritual victory over imperialism.
In his poem, “The Quest for Healing”, he writes:
“O you the Just, the Good by excellence, the Preserver! O You who heal and who hold man’s destiny in Your hands! Let Your blessings descend where harm exists And let there be good where evil prevails. And let there be generosity where avarice prevails. Let wealth be showered in poor places and let there be gratitude where ingratitude prevails…”
The above summarizes the message of Shaykh Amadou Bamba.
May Allāh be pleased with Cheikh Amadou Bamba Mbacke, allow us to benefit by him in both worlds, and may we all be servants of the messenger ﷺ.
More resources:
Abdul Hakim Murad on Shaykh Amadou Bamba: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03bg6286Y5Y
Sheikh Amadu Bàmba’s Murīd Resistance to French Colonial Oppression: http://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/content/sheikh-amadu-b-mba-s-mur-d-resistance-french-colonial-oppression
Here is a link to one of the rigorous wird the Mouridiyya recite morning and evening that was compiled by Amadou Bamba, and given to him by the prophet ﷺ. http://www.daaraykamil.com/Wird-Mouride-tr.pdf
Here is one of his most widely recited poems in the traditional Mouridiyya style of recitation http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUcnp-x2zwc
Du’ass requested for my beloved brother: Abdoul-Ahad Thiam who introduced me to Shaykh Ahmadou Bamba and the Mouridiyya. He is a khadim of the khadim al-rassoul.
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Shaykh Abu Bakr bin Salim
By Zara Nargis
His Life
Several of the `Alawī Imams were given good tidings of the coming of Shaykh Abū Bakr; Fakhr al-Wujūd. Shaykh `Abdullāh, the youngest son of Shaykh `Abd al-Rahmān al-Saqqāf, was one day wondering how he could ever reach the station and prominence of his two brothers, `Umar al-Mihdār and Abū Bakr al-Sakrān. His father read his thoughts and said to him: “That prominence will be in your progeny.” Amongst this blessed progeny was Shaykh Abū Bakr bin Sālim and all his blessed progeny. Shaykh Abū Bakr was born in Tarīm in 919 (1513). His father took him to the Imam of Tarīm at the time, Shaykh Shihāb al-Din, Ahmad bin `Abd al-Rahmān, complaining that his son was having difficulty in memorising the Qur’ān. The Shaykh said to his father: “Leave him and do not burden him. He will devote himself to it of his own accord and he will have a great affair.” It was as the Shaykh said: Shaykh Abū Bakr devoted himself to the Qur’ān and memorised it in around four months. Then he applied himself to learning the inner and outer sciences.
In his youth, he lived in the village of al-Lisk, East of Tarīm, and he would walk several miles by night to Tarīm to pray in its mosques and visit its graves. He would fill up the tanks used for ablutions in the mosques and fill up troughs for animals to drink before returning to pray the Fajr prayer in al-Lisk. He later moved to Tarīm but decided while still in his mid-twenties to move to the village of `Aynāt in the search of territory where he could spread the call to Allah and His Messenger (endless peace and blessings be upon him). He built a mosque and house there and began teaching and giving spiritual instruction. His fame spread and students started coming from different parts of Yemen and as far afield as India and North Africa. As a result, a new town grew up distinct from the old village of `Aynāt.
He had a great concern, like his predecessors, for the visit of the Prophet Hūd. It was Shaykh Abū Bakr who first established the great annual visit in Sha`bān, it being previously arranged according to the date harvest. In his old age he would be carried to the visit and when he was asked to compile a work on the merits of the visit, he said that the fact that he was still making the effort to visit in his old age was sufficient proof of its merit.
Shaykh Abū Bakr was immensely generous. He would supervise the affairs of his famous kitchen and distribute food with his own hands. He would bake a thousand loaves of bread for the poor every day – five hundred for lunch and five hundred for dinner. This was not including food prepared for his numerous guests. A poor dishevelled woman once came to give a small amount of food to the Shaykh. His servant turned her away saying: “Caravans are bringing goods to the Shaykh from far off places and he is not in need of what you have brought.” The Shaykh, however, was listening and he welcomed the woman, graciously accepted her offering and gave her a big reward in exchange. He then chastised his servant, saying: “The one who does not show gratitude for small things will not show gratitude for great things. The one who does not show gratitude to people does not show gratitude to Allah.”
He would fast the three hottest months of the year and for the last fifteen years consumed nothing but milk and coffee. The Shaykh loved coffee and there are numerous stories regarding his preference of it. He never left praying the eight rak`āt of the Duhā prayer and the eleven rak`āt of the Witr prayer, even while travelling. He was also never seen leaning on anything, nor was he comfortably seated, but he was solely in the position of one who is reciting tashahhud during his prayer.
He also composed a number of litanies and prayers upon the Prophet (endless peace and blessings be upon him), the most famous of which is Salāt al-Tāj (the Prayer of the Crown) which is widely read in the Indian Subcontinent.
His Return
A year before his death, Shaykh Abū Bakr led the visit to the Prophet Hūd and thousands crowded around him, almost fighting to kiss and touch him. When he saw this, he wept profusely and repeated Allah’s words: He is but a slave upon whom We have bestowed Our blessings. (Al-Zukhruf, 42:59)
Shaykh Abū Bakr finally breathed his last in Dhū’l-Ḥijjah 992 (1583). He said during his life that he would place secrets in the sand dune in which he is buried, and its blessed sand has been used time and again for healing purposes.
Reflections
It suffices to say that Shaykh Abu Bakr bin Salim was chosen due to what he said and thus what came about from the visits to his abode of rest:
أَوَمَا عَلِمْتَ بِأَنَّنَا أَهْلُ الوَفَا
ومُحِبُّنَا مَا زَالَ تَحْتَ لِوَانَا
نَحْنُ الكِرَامُ فَمَنْ أَتَانَا قَاصِدَا
نَالَ السَّعَادَةَ عِنْدَمَا يَلْقَانَا
“Do you not know that we are people of honour, and that the one who loves us will always be under our banner?
We are generous people so whoever comes to us seeking will attain felicity when he meets us.”
References and Further Reading
Imams of the Valley – Amin Buxton
A Blessed Valley Volume One – Mostafa al-Badawi
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Shaykh Aḥmad ibn ʿAjība
By Dawud Israel
Imām al-Junayd said that the stories of the righteous are the marshaled soldiers of God. I found the autobiography of the 18th century Moroccan Ṣūfī Shaykh Aḥmad ibn ʿAjība to be full of stories and lessons that motivate one to strive as if they were a soldier of God. Beyond usual hagiography, Shaykh Aḥmad ibn ʿAjība gives us an account of the details of his life, his upbringing, how he struggled, his spiritual development, and his miracles. I found many aspects of his life similar to those of the early Imāms of Islam – his learning, his imprisonment, his traveling, and his routines. He brings much of the early days of Islam back to life, when the himmah (exertion) for Islam was far greater. This is relevant to our time when due to the chasm of time it has become difficult to bring that level of zeal to our diīn.
His grandmother was a majdhuba and had numerous miracles attributed to her serving the people of Tetuan. When his mother was carrying him she often repeated: “Oh God grant me virtuous progeny!” and repeated this after each prescribed prayer and during the whole month of Ramadan. Her prayers were answered and from the time he started going to school he would go to the mosque in the middle of the night and remain there until dawn.
His beginnings on the path
He had zeal for Islamic knowledge and received ījāza from his teachers to teach in various Zāwīyas. The Ḥikam of Ibn ‘Aṭā’illāh had piqued his desire for taṣawwuf early on and after spending many years as a student of Islamic learning (aalim), he desired to delve deeper into taṣawwuf.
In the mornings he would read ¼ of the Qurʾān in the day and ¼ of the Qurʾān at night in addition to making dhikr of God’s Name. Then he became connected to prayers of peace and blessings upon the Prophet (endless peace and blessings be upon him) until he could repeat the whole Dalā’il al-Khayrāt by heart. He desired to possess the Qurʾān, learned to read it in the 7 modes of recitation and would complete 14 khatms of the Qurʾān every month. This lasted for 3-4 years. Then he married and started teaching while continuing this routine for 15-16 years before meeting Shaykh al-Buzidi.
What we can take away from this is that many years may pass in a high level of ibādah until one’s soul becomes ready to undergo a greater transformation. From this we can see how much perseverance and exertion is required in coming near to God. Rather than relying on a murshid in the beginning, he sought God with whatever means God had given him, for God is enough for His servants. This can be seen as preparation for his spiritual opening later on at the hands of Shaykh al-Buzidi.
Around this time he saw Shaykh Abū’l Ḥasan as-Shadhili in a dream saying “Persevere! By God, there will be 44 learned men who will receive knowledge from you!” Many times we may feel escapist, as if its best if we just abandon the dunyā and simply worship God in khalwa. Aḥmad ibn ʿAjība felt this way too and even though he sought to abandon everything for spiritual pursuits, God intended for people to benefit from him. The lesson from this is that God may plan something different for us, for us to benefit people in a way perhaps no one else can benefit them. It may also suggest that guiding and teaching people the dīn is a crucial part of one’s spiritual development.
What his Shaykh said about him
Shaykh al-Buzidi said about him: “Sidi Aḥmad has the qualities of detachment, scrupulousness, trusting God, constancy, forbearance, contentment, serene submission, piety, compassion, generosity and magnanimity.”
To which Shaykh Aḥmad ibn ʿAjība replied: “Master you are already talking about Sufism!”
Shaykh al-Buzidi: “That is just exterior Ṣūfīsm, there is still interior Ṣūfīsm which you will know later God willing!”
Here the Shaykh is talking about a view of taṣawwuf and tazkīyya that is different from the usual Muslim discourse of the outer and inner, the Ẓāhir and the bāṭin. Here he is speaking of layers to spiritual purification beyond what is outer and inner, but what is even more inner and even deeper than what we understood the spiritual to be.
His miracles in his own words
“I remember once when I was invoking God’s name in my house. The books were sitting on a shelf above me. Just then I saw a little bird up there, completely devoid of feathers as if it had just been born. He was moving his beak vigorously, opening it and then closing it over and over again, such that I realized that he was also invoking. I stood up and got closer to him, but he kept up with his invocation. When I tried to reach out to him, he withdrew and disappeared from my sight. I looked everywhere in the room, but the bird was not to be found. One of my disciples was there, sitting across the doorway. I asked him, but he assured me that he had seen nothing. That is when I realized that the bird was an angel.”
I had gone to pray in a room near the tomb of Sidī Abū ‘Abd Allāh al-Fahhar during Laylatul Qadr and found myself alone in the dark room, when I was suddenly surrounded by birds: there were in front of me and behind me, with others fluttering above my head. I paid no heed, but I knew that they were angels that had come to greet men during that night.
One day when I went to visit my mother’s people, in the mountains, noon came earlier than I expected, but I could not find any water. I thought to myself: “There are saints who have had miracles happen; for example, they have seen water flowing out of a wall. Oh God, provide us with water so that we might perform ablutions!” Just then, I heard the trickling of water above the road and went toward the spot: water was flowing down the mountain and I did my ablutions. When we reached the spot in question, I told my brother that I had found water there; but when we looked we could find nothing but dryness.
While I was exercising in the Casba mosque – I was still a bachelor at the time – it happened that I finished my teaching of a book. To celebrate the event, I gave the muezzin, Sidī Muḥammad al-Sagir, two or three small bushels of flour with which he prepared a meal. From sundown to the evening prayer, he did not stop serving guests: one group got up, and another replaced them. Mysteriously, enough food was left that the mu’addin took it home. His family and his neighbors ate it, after which he told me: “It was a true marvel! And to think that I was under the impression you were not giving me much flour at all!”
Another time when I had gone to the Qarawīīn Mosque in Fez during Laylatul Qadr, I remained to make invocation after the dawn prayer and suddenly saw a man walking between the columns saying “La ilaha illallah; the market is finished (insarafa l-suq)!” I retorted: “There is still the Living One, who does not die!” He then disappeared from my sight and replied: “What you say is true!” Then he added: “I composed a book in which I wrote, ‘so and so said,’ ‘so and so said’ and did I get results?” Then he continued: “If you want to write, let it come from you!” I understood that he was referring to a work that I was writing in which I was repeating lots of things the ancient authors had said; he was bringing my attention to the fact that I should use my own faculties of thought to take out what was inside me.”
Select advices from his letters
“Wandering is indispensable for the faqīr who is beginning the way. Travelling reveals faults and purifies souls and hearts; it expands one’s character and, thanks to it, knowledge of the King and Creator is broadened. In fact, the traveler contemplates a new ray of divine light every day, and encounters aspects that he did not know and that were unfamiliar to him. His knowledge and his intellectual horizon are stretched. They say that the faqir is like water: if he stays in the same place too long, he stagnates and putrefies.”
Every time you see someone indulging in one of these practices, using hashish or tobacco, for example, flee and say, “I take refuge from him in God!” The person is a demon among the human demons, sent by God to try the initiates, to see if they remain firm on the straight path or if they stray. Beware of following them, of allowing yourselves to be seduced by their words or of letting yourselves be trained by them toward easiness or toward arbitrary interpretations, for you would risk seeing your good actions invalidated and would be running toward your loss.
Know how to restrict your means of subsistence as much as you can, and be content with the subsistence that becomes your lot. Subsistence of the body is, as a matter of fact, guaranteed and, however paltry it might be, and it suffices. Do not be greedy except for subsistence of the spirit, which is the invocation of God, visiting Shaykhs and brethren, and the service one renders them: of this subsistence do not be satisfied with either less or more; any more than with meditation or contemplation, if you have an aptitude for it, because they are the means of acquiring the Great Richness, the Supreme Success which is obtained only by intense dedication of the heart and of the body. Peace!
Peace and blessings be upon Shaykh Aḥmad ibn ʿAjība!
Source: The Autobiography of a Moroccan Soufi Ahmad IbnAjiba
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Sultan of the Path- Imām al-Junayd
When I received the invitation to write in the Luminaries Series, I was surprised that I thought of Imām al-Junayd first before someone like Imām al-Ghazālī. Imām al-Ghazālī is well known and widely quoted. His books serve as immense sources of wisdom and prescriptions for how one can purify their heart and elevate their station with their Lord. After the words of God and the words of the Beloved (endless peace and blessings be upon him), we often hear the words of Imām al-Ghazālī when it comes to setting on the path of purifying our hearts. But now as I think of it, in our times we desperately need to get to know Imām al-Junayd.
You know you are dealing with a special person when much of his personal biography is lost, and no major text of his was left behind, yet scholars from all streams within the Islamic Tradition quote his counsels throughout their various works. Across the intellectual divides within the Muslim Ummah, one can find the influence of Imām al-Junayd scattered throughout. In fact, for one to gather a collection of the counsels of Imām al-Junayd, they have to pick up the works of scholars like Imām al-Ghazālī, as well as the works of scholars like Imām Ibn Taymiyyah and step outside their familiar comfort zone of only reading for one type of scholar. It is a true testament to the sincerity of a scholar that more than a millennium after his passing, and no available books attributed to him; he still manages to bring divided Muslims together on a common ground.
Abū al-Qāsim al-Junayd ibn Muḥammad al-Zajjaj was born in 220 A.H./830 C.E. in Baghdad, Iraq and was raised there. His family was originally from Nahavand, the capital of Nahavand County in the Ḥamdān Province in Iran. His father used to sell glass bottles, which is where the family name “al-Zajjaj” comes from.
An incident at the age of seven marked the path Imām al-Junayd would eventually be named the “Sulṭān” of. As he was playing in the presence of a gathering of scholars, his maternal uncle, al-Sarī al-Saqaṭī, asked him, “Young man, what is thankfulness?” The young al-Junayd replied, “That you do not disobey God with His blessings.” al-Sarī remarked, “I fear that your only share from God would be your tongue.” The weight of this remark was so great that Imām al-Junayd said later in his life, “I have continued to cry over the remark that al-Sarī directed at me.”
As this story implies, Imām al-Junayd began his studies at a very young age. His intelligence and insight qualified him to achieve the status of muftī by the time he was merely 20 years old. One contemporary scholar said about Imām al-Junayd, “I saw a scholar among you in Baghdad called ‘al-Junayd’ who my eye has never seen anyone like him. The linguists would attend his gathering for his rhetoric, the philosophers for his precision, the poets for his eloquence, and the theologians for his meanings.” Another scholar remarked, “We did not see among our scholars one who combined between much knowledge and spiritual presence other than Abū al-Qāsim. Most of them have either a lot of knowledge but little spiritual presence, or some have much spiritual presence but very little knowledge. Al-Junayd had a dangerously immense spiritual presence and copious amounts of knowledge, such that if you experienced his spiritual presence you would assume it outweighed his knowledge, and if you saw his knowledge you would assume it outweighed his spirituality.”
Imām al-Junayd is unique in this way among the luminaries in his combination of knowledge and spirituality. If there is such a thing as “Sufi’izing Salafism and Salafizing Sufism,” it is embodied in the person of Imām al-Junayd. He was one to act upon authentic evidence from the Qurʾān and Ḥadīth, while at the same time preserve the spirit of the text in a way that many of us seek to accomplish today. One important counsel of Imām al-Junayd states, “Whoever does not memorize the Qurʾān, does not write the Ḥadīth, and does not gain an understanding of both is not to be followed, because our path is restricted by the Book and the Sunnah.” To fulfill this counsel the Imām offered another one to set the seeker on the right path, “The beginning of knowledge is from scholars, the middle of it is action, and the end of it is from the Exalted.”
Imām al-Junayd was highly concerned with translating knowledge into action. As he said in one of his counsels, “We did not take Sufism from hearsay. Rather, we took it from hunger, abandonment of dunya, and severing familiar luxuries. Because Ṣūfīsm is the purity of relationship with God.” This statement of Imām al-Junayd should not be confused with not enjoying the pleasures of life. It is known that he was a successful merchant in Baghdad and earned his own provisions. However, he did not allow the luxuries of this life to take over his heart, which he preserved for God in keeping with the statement in the Qurʾān, “The day on which neither wealth nor property will avail, except him who comes to God with a sound heart” [26:88-89].
One of the most important issues Imām al-Junayd dealt with were the rampant claims of love of and nearness to God that many were making during his time. To the Imām, claims negate sincerity and lead to arrogance. Moreover, claims of elevated stations and nearness to God are not permitted as the Qurʾān states that only “God knows who is purified” [53:32]. For these reasons we read another counsel of Imām al-Junayd reminding us that, “Whoever sticks to the path with sincerity, God will suffice them from making empty claims.”
The extent to which Imām al-Junayd went with regards to claims was to remind Muslims not to be overtaken by miraculous demonstrations known as karāmat. The true measure of anyone in Islam is not based in fantastic events that occur to them. Rather, we measure on the scale of righteousness, which is defined by how one upholds the injunctions and abstains from the limitations that God has set.
It is not that Imām al-Junayd rejected miracles of saints. He rejected having miracles as a measure of anything relevant to our estimation of whether someone is righteous or not. Here we realize the importance of having knowledge in Islam. Imām al-Junayd warned us in one of his most famous counsels, “If you see a man sitting cross-legged suspended in the air, do not follow him until you see his actions with regards to commands and prohibitions. If you see that he upholds all the commandments, and avoids all the prohibitions, then believe in him and follow him. But if you see him not upholding the commandments, and not avoiding the prohibitions, then avoid him.”
One can spend a great deal of time commenting on the scattered pearls of wisdom we have from Imām al-Junayd. But even he would not approve of us spending our time in this way. As one of his companions relates a dream he had of the Imām after he passed away in 297 A.H./ 910 C.E., in which he asked him, “What did God do with you?” The Imām replied, “Those indications have fallen, the counsels have become hidden, the knowledge has disappeared, the appearances have been withered, and nothing has benefitted us except for a few cycles of prayer we used to perform before the break of dawn.”
15-Episode series on some of the counsels of Imām al-Junayd by Mohamed Ghilan can be found here
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Healing Hearts presents in collaboration with other blogging friends, a 7 day series from Monday 10 March 2014.
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Contributions by:
Mohamed Ghilan- Mohamed Ghilan
Kamran Haikal- Ahlul Bay
Sidra Mushtaq- Healing Hearts
Kamran Shaheen- The Conscious Muslim
Dawud Israel- Muslimology
Zara Nargis- Treasures for the Seeker
Tariq Yusufzai- Tariq the Pilgrim
May this special series be a source of inspiration, healing and learning. May we benefit from learning about some of the great luminaries that stepped on this earth. Amin!
Please keep the contributors and their loved ones in your excellent prayers!
On Love of the Prophet, Peace Be Upon Him
يا خير من دفنت في الترب أعظمه *** فطاب من طيبهن القاع والأكم
نفسي الفداء لقبر أنت ساكنه *** فيه العفاف وفيه الجود والكرم
أنت الحبيب الذي ترجى شفاعته *** عند الصراط إذا ما زلت القدم
لولاك ما خلقت شمس ولا قمر *** ولا سماء ولا لوح ولا قلم
صلى عليك إله العرش ما طلعت *** شمس وحن إليك الضال والسلم
O best of whose bones were buried in the earth
Giving from their blessings to landscapes and hills
I give my soul in sacrifice to the grave you occupy
Within it is chastity, generosity, and liberality
You’re the Beloved whose intercession is sought
On the narrow path towards heaven if my foot slips
Had it not been for you, nor the sun nor the moon would’ve been created
Nor the sky, Tablet or Pen
May the Lord of the Throne pray upon you as many times
As the sun rises and as those astray and whole yearn for you
These beautiful lines of poetry come from a poem that Imam Ibn Katheer narrates in his commentary on verse 64 from chapter 4 where Allah says:
ولو أنهم إذ ظلموا أنفسهم جاءوك فاستغفروا الله واستغفر لهم الرسول لوجدوا الله توابا رحيما
And had they when they were unjust to themselves, come to you and asked for forgiveness of Allah and the Messenger had also asked forgiveness for them, they would have found Allah Oft-returning (to mercy), Merciful
A bedouin came to the grave where the Prophet peace be upon him is buried and said: “O Messenger of Allah, I’ve committed a grave sin. But I’ve heard Allah say in the Quran (and he recited the above mentioned verse), and I’m here to ask Allah for forgiveness and ask you to ask Him as well for me to be forgiven”. He followed this by reciting the poem where the above lines of poetry come from, weeped, and walked away. Al Utbi was watching this happen and after the bedouin left he fell asleep and saw the Prophet peace be upon him in his dream and was told to go catch up with the bedouin and give him glad tidings that Allah has forgiven him.
The more I reflect on this story the more overwhelming I find it. It’s all about love and connection with the Beloved peace be upon him. The lines of poetry can only come out of love for the Prophet peace be upon him. The concern our Prophet peace be upon him has for us can only be from his love and mercy. The love of Allah for His Messenger peace be upon him that He guarantees forgiveness and mercy for those whom His Messenger peace be upon him is interceding for.
One of the things I really yearn for is to have love for our Messenger peace be upon him as the love his companions may Allah be pleased with them had for him. There is a narration by Anas Ibn Malik may Allah be pleased with him in Sahih Al Bukhari where he says that the Messenger of Allah peace and blessings be upon him said:
By the One who my soul is in His hand, none of you truly believes until I am more beloved to him than his self, his wealth, his children, and all people. Umar Ibn Al Khattab may Allah be pleased with him replied to this by saying:
“O Messenger of Allah! By Allah you are more beloved to me than everything else, except my own self.”
To this the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him said:
“No O Umar. Not until I’m more beloved to you than your own self”
So Umar may Allah be pleased with him quickly recanted his initial response by saying:
“O Messenger of Allah! By Allah you are more beloved to me than everything else, even my own self”
The Messenger of Allah peace be upon replied:
“Umar, now you have it!”
To have that kind of love is truly magnificent. This type of love that brought people to sacrifice their own lives quite literally in defence of the Messenger peace be upon him during battle. It’s the type of love that brought a companion to pray to become blind after the passing of the Beloved peace be upon him from this world so that the last thing his eyes saw would’ve been the Prophet peace be upon him’s face. It’s a love that brought the toughest of the companions to their knees weeping after the news of his passing peace be upon him from this world.
I want you to picture this scene with me for a few minutes. Close your eyes and take a trip to Medina and watch Umar Ibn Al Khattab may Allah be pleased with him at first getting furious and waving his sword threatening to kill anyone who says “Muhammad is dead”. Then Abu Bakr As’Sideeq may Allah be pleased with him getting up and declaring the passing of the Prophet peace be upon him and reciting the verses from the Qur’an that relate to his human nature peace be upon him. This is when Umar, a man whose size from a far gives the illusion as if he’s riding a horse when in fact he would be walking, collapses on the ground and weeps intensely.
Bilal Ibn Rabah may Allah be pleased with him, the muezzin of the Prophet peace be upon him, left Medina to Syria because he could not stay in a city where everything reminds him of something about his most Beloved. After a couple of years of not visiting, the Prophet peace be upon him appears to Bilal in a dream and says:
ما هذا الجفاء يا بلال؟ أما آن لك أن تزورنا؟
What’s this coldness towards us O Bilal? Isn’t it time for you to visit us?
As soon as Bilal may Allah be pleased with him sees the city of the Prophet peace be upon him, he starts to weep before he enters. He continues to cry until he reaches the mosque of the Prophet peace be upon him and collapses in tears by his grave. The Prophet peace upon him’s grandsons Al-Hasan and Al-Husayin may Allah shower them with peace and mercy came to Bilal may Allah be pleased with him and they all hugged for a long time. They asked him to get up and call the Athan, which he hasn’t called ever since the passing of the Prophet peace upon him. He initially refused the same request from Abu Bakr and Umar may Allah be pleased with them because it was too difficult for him and he couldn’t bring himself to do it. But he couldn’t refuse the request from the grandchildren of the Prophet peace be upon him and finally agrees.
Bilal may Allah be pleased with him makes it to the roof of the mosque and starts calling: Allahu Akbar! Allahu Akbar!
At an instant everyone in Medina, young and old, men and women, all begin to cry. It’s been a few years since they heard the same voice call for the prayer that the Prophet peace be upon him would lead. Everyone’s minds are now flooded with all kinds of memories of the times when the Prophet peace be upon him was among them. They even thought that he peace be upon him was brought back to life. As for Bilal may Allah be pleased with him… well, he got to the part where he bare witnessed that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah and choked up at the name; he couldn’t finish calling the Athan.
I’ve been reflecting lately on something that I’ve come to realize. Most of us when we raise our hands in prayer, we usually ask for Allah’s blessings, help in our needs, facilitate our affairs, make our difficult circumstances easy, etc. But it seems that very few of us ask Allah to throw love of our Messenger peace be upon him similar to his companions’ love in our hearts. I’ve asked a few people if they’ve ever prayed to Allah to grant them the vision of the Prophet peace be upon him in their sleep. Sadly, the majority said they never even thought of it.
In the collection of Imam Ahmed is a narration by Anas Ibn Malik may Allah be pleased with him where he relates that the Prophet peace be upon him said to Abu Bakr may Allah be pleased with him:
O Abu Bakr, I wish I could meet my brothers. I wish I could meet my brothers, for I love them!
Abu Bakr may Allah be pleased with him said:
O Messenger of Allah! We’re your brothers!
He peace be upon him said:
You’re my companions. My brothers are a people that haven’t seen me, believed in me, and loved me so much so that I’m more beloved to them than their parents and their children.
It’s all about love. So close your eyes for a minute. Imagine that you’ve been granted a chance to meet the most Beloved who called you his brother or sister and said he wished he could meet you. You’re so important to him that he was concerned about you even though he came over 1420 years ago. The most caring, loving, merciful gift from the Most Merciful is giving you his undivided attention for as long as you’d like. What you say to him?
May Allah throw love of the Him and His Messenger peace be upon him into our hearts, and may He grant us seeing him peace be upon him in our dreams and having his company in the highest heavens in the Next World.
With love
© Mohamed Ghilan, Rabi’ al-Awwal 1433/February 2012
Healing Hearts 
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